Posts

You probably don’t realize that you’ve been paying for social media all this time that you thought it was free. No, you haven’t been charged on a monthly basis. Instead, if you post pictures, videos, or any other content, you’ve been selling social media sites limited licenses to use your photos, and content, pretty much anyway they see fit. That’s right, your favorite funny face profile pic could be emblazoned on an IRL (in real life) billboard next to a caption to sell the latest in fast acting laxatives....

A child porn victim from Pennsylvania is using a law that she inspired to sue her viewers. Masha Allen’s lawsuit seeks $150,000 each from pedophiles – including doctors, lawyers, and even her own father – who’ve viewed sexually explicit images of her. “Masha’s Law” is named for Allen, a Russian orphan adopted at age 5 by divorced Pittsburgh-area millionaire Matthew Mancuso. Over the course of five years, Mancuso turned Masha into a child porn Internet sensation by producing and circulating about 200 explicit images of her, some of which were taken at Disney World....

In a strange case of kids sue mom, Kathryn Miner, 20, and her brother Steven Miner, 23, filed a lawsuit against their mother two years ago, claiming that during their posh and often privileged upbringing in Chicago’s suburb of Barrington Hills, her parenting caused them to suffer from emotional distress. Last week, an Illinois appellate court dismissed that lawsuit, calling it no more than a case of alleged “bad mothering,” declining to “open the floodgates” and “subject family child rearing to…excessive judicial scrutiny and interference....

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Department of Justice have been fighting for our right to fair financing, and you might be surprised by an area of recent focus. Since 2013, the agencies have been investigating indirect lenders associated with car companies and dealers, and they found their financing policies have a discriminatory impact on non-white borrowers. The most recent target of investigation, reports JD Supra, is Toyota Motor Credit....

Scams are all around us. Fake wedding vendors; fake office supplies; and even fake grandchildren in distress. And now fake jury duty? Most people do everything they can to avoid jury duty, and now they have to tray and avoid a jury duty scam so convincing it almost duped an experienced lawyer. Here’s how it works: Scamming Sheriff Cindy Harrington Napier says she got a threatening voicemail message from a “Lt....

In 2017, Florida lawmakers shifted the burden of proof in so-called “stand your ground” shootings. Previously it had been up to defendants to prove immunity from prosecution under the state’s “stand your ground” statute, but a new bill shifted that burden from defense lawyers to prosecutors, requiring them to prove a shooter is not protected by the statute. What wasn’t clear from the statute, however, was whether this shift applied to cases that had already been filed, but had yet to go trial before it became law....

Inmate “discipline” may have been taken to a whole other level in Alabama, if accusations leveled against a former Alabama judge are true. CNN reports that Former Mobile County Circuit Judge Herman Thomas has been arrested based on claims he had been “checking male inmates out of jail and forcing them to engage in sexual activity including paddling.” He faces a litany of charges ranging from the obvious ethics violations to kidnapping, sex abuse, and sodomy....

Planning on becoming the next urban beekeeper? Well, just like keeping hipster hens or other forms of urban animal husbandry, you may need to look at your city’s local laws before you start making some of that sweet sweet honey. So check our buzz about hipster beekeepers, and make sure you don’t get stung by state and local laws: No matter what kind of animals you keep on your property, you need to know what your potential liability could be from injuries those animals may cause....

Many personal injury attorneys offer free consultations. This allows a lawyer to learn more about the facts surrounding your case before deciding to take you on as a client. As the first step in the process of pursuing a potential personal injury claim, your initial meeting with an attorney will also be an opportunity for you to find out more about your legal options and to get a feel for whether you and the attorney would work well together....

If something you created somehow shows up on someone else’s website, you may want to know how to send an Internet takedown notice. As you may know, the Internet may appear to be a free-for-all where many users simply steal another person’s work. However, there are laws that protect your copyrighted work on the Internet, as well as personal material like pictures of you on vacation. Basically, you can notify infringing users of their unlawful use of your material and send them a takedown notice....

The economy is slowly improving, and it looks like it’s recovered enough to make buying a home an attractive proposition once again. Back in 2010, 63% of Americans said the economy was keeping them from buying a home. But a new survey by FindLaw.com finds that now, only 30% of people feel that way. There are even some who think the current economy makes it more likely they’ll buy. Of the survey respondents, 49% said the economy isn’t influencing them one way or the other about buying a home....

The Beatles said it best; the legal journey to decide the fate of Proposition 8, California’s ban on gay marriage, will be nothing if not a long and winding road. Today, there is a signpost in that road. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Vaughn Walker handed down his decision in the first federal court challenge to the constitutionality of the law. Despite the court’s holding that the law does violate the constitution, not much will change today for same sex couples in the Golden State who wish to marry....

A federal judge decided that the school district and sheriff’s office had no legal duty to protect the students as they were fired upon by Nikolas Cruz in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida on February 14, 2018. Police generally do not have a duty to protect individuals. Rather, they have a duty to protect the general public. Taken to the extreme, a police officer would not have a duty to protect you even if they saw someone point a gun and shoot you in the head....

After a dry spell in terms of companies going public (bailout references aside), this week saw two once-small technology companies launch initial public offerings (IPOs). For those whose IPO memory has evaporated in the recent economic desert, and for those who hear the term tossed about, here are some basics about what launching an IPO and “going public” means. This Wednesday, SolarWinds, Inc., a network management software company out of Austin, Texas held its IPO, which according to reports from the Wall Street Journal, was well received....

Most small businesses need a little financial help getting off the ground or out of the garage. And while there are many ways to finance a startup, from angel investors to friends and family, most small biz owners are turning to loans to get their businesses up and running, or get them through a rough patch. While borrowing a large amount of money for your small business may seem daunting, there are government programs and incentives that can help....

Americans are not fond of laws that tell us we “have to” do something. Take for instance the still constant fight over helmet laws. In this election season, could it be time to consider one of the biggest “have to” laws of all: compulsory voting? Does a high turnout generate a better political process? Some will remember that the former USSR had a “voter” turnout hovering around 99%, but little in the way of government reaction to the will of the actual voter in the booth....

What happens to your Facebook when you die? For better or for worse, social networking sites are the modern day shoebox. They hold our thoughts, our photos and our personal mementos. But unlike physical artifacts, they can die right with us. Indeed, if you’re not careful, your digital life may be deleted before your family has a chance to preserve the memories. These memories can be very important to your loved ones, which is why the Associated Press reports that Karen Williams sued the site to gain access to her son’s profile....

You’ve got your brand new small business idea – you just need a place to launch. And finding the perfect space for your venture can be a complex equation of location, decor, amenities, and square footage. Finding the right landlord and lease is also essential, and, unfortunately for startups, landlords might be a little more hesitant to rent to businesses with little track record, or they may ask for additional clauses to ensure they get their rent....

The online poker shutdown last week involving PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker has devastated players across the country for a variety of reasons. But since the sites have been taken offline, players are mostly concerned about winnings stored in online poker accounts. Where is it and can they have it back? As part of the online poker shutdown, the FBI took over internet domains and froze more than 75 bank accounts across the world, reports the Associated Press....

The first hurdle has been surpassed for Democrats and pro-union activists who oppose the Wisconsin collective bargaining law. The judge in the case has temporarily halted its enforcement. After Republicans stripped the bill and voted in less than 24 hours, Governor Scott Walker signed it into law, prompting an immediate lawsuit. Plaintiffs are alleging that Republicans violated the state’s open meeting laws when they altered the bill with less than two hours notice....